Why haven’t national Democratic leaders marched in the streets with Indivisible and No Kings? Why haven’t they organized a national strike? Why are they not warning ICE perpetrators they can be prosecuted once Democrats are back in power? Why aren’t they protesting and getting arrested at ICE headquarters the way many local officials are? Why are Obamacare subsidies the only issue they’re willing to go to the mat for, and not Trump’s extortion of colleges, law firms, the press, and corporations? Not his masked secret police, concentration camps, and mass deportations? Not his transformation of the justice department into his own personal instrument of vengeance? Why aren’t they cautioning our generals that they will be dishonoring their uniforms if they ignore Posse Comitatus restrictions and the rules of engagement?
We should be writing and calling our representatives regularly to remind them of how badly they are failing us— maybe that would help put some fire in their bellies. But more than that, it is now obvious we cannot rely on the Democratic Party to protect us. It is up to us to each of us collectively—no one is coming to save us.
What gives me hope? I’m encouraged by the people standing up to ICE in the streets, chiding them, booing them, willing to face chemical sprays and zip-ties, and willing to face being tackled and arrested. I’m encouraged by public officials—mayors, aldermen, city comptrollers, members of congress, candidates running for office—who show up at courtrooms, ICE detention facilities, and hospitals to demand habeas corpus be honored. I’m encouraged by religious groups that pray in Jericho marches around ICE facilities. I’m encouraged by Governors like Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker, and Bob Ferguson who stand up to Trump, and candidates like Zohran Mamdani who refuse to be intimidated. I am encouraged by legal groupș—the ACLU, Democracy Forward, the Elias Law Group, Public Citizen, and many others—that seek restraining orders to block illegal and unconstitutional actions. I’m encouraged by district and appellate judges who do their best to honor the law. I’m encouraged by immigration attorneys who work tirelessly to defend their clients. I’m encouraged by average citizens prancing in inflatable costumes in Portland and Chicago. I’m encouraged by the 2,400+ demonstrations planned nationwide for No Kings Day October 18th. Every individual public act of integrity and courage gives me hope. It is through these small acts of decency and courage that we will, in the end, prevail.
Robert Kennedy Roshi once told me Zen was about actualizing oneself as a decent person, and Bernie Glassman Roshi said it was about being a mensch. What does it mean to be a decent person or mensch? Almost every spiritual and philosophical tradition tells us it’s about cultivating our hearts, treating others with dignity, striving to be fair and honest, honoring our responsibilities, and finding ways to maintain our integrity. There are members of the current administration who believe the good life is all about performative dominance, bullying, demonizing, demeaning, and belittling, and about feeding off the public trough. They don’t know what it is to be a decent person. Perhaps they’ve forgotten it; perhaps they never learned.
Buddhist practice helps us cultivate our moral compasses and be guided by them. Every time we act with kindness, resist an injustice, morally witness, speak up on behalf of the oppressed, we enlarge ourselves as human beings. The path of moral growth and the path of preserving free societies is one path.
It’s not that hard.
Let’s rise up and be decent people!